The screen on the new MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR display is downright impressive. We measured close to 2,000 nits of brightness using a 10% HDR pattern. As someone who lab-tests every laptop that comes through Tom's Guide for review, I immediately wondered how Apple's latest display would stack up against the competition.

The numbers don't lie. After digging through our benchmark spreadsheets and comparing the results against 80 laptops tested in our lab this year, I can confidently say that Apple's latest MacBook Pro is the brightest laptop we've tested in 2026.

Everyone conducts display testing differently and uses different equipment, so results can vary by equipment and a publication’s testing standards. This is why it is important to understand how we test.

At Tom’s Guide, we test both a display's SDR and HDR performance. For SDR brightness testing, we display a white image on the screen, set the brightness to 100%, and measure it using our Klein K10-A and DisplayCal software.

For HDR testing, which is where we test a laptop’s maximum brightness, we use the same software and colorimeter, paired with copies of HDR test patterns. With the screen at 100% brightness, these patterns play as a movie in the laptop’s native movie player. We use 10%, 40%, and 100% HDR patterns. These patterns fill the screen with the corresponding percentages on a black background while playing.

And a lab tester’s note. The 10% window is a commonly used benchmark for evaluating peak HDR brightness, particularly in television testing.

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